Official Blog of Author MICHAEL THOMAS BARRY.
A blog which discusses varied topics that are related to the authors many books. Michael is a columnist for CrimeMagazine.com and a reviewer for the New York Journal of Books.
Questions or comments can be sent to ocauthor6434@gmail.com

Friday, November 2, 2012

South Vietnamese President Ngo Dinh Diem is Assassinated - 1963

On this date in 1963, South Vietnamese President Ngo Dinh
Diem and his brother are captured and killed by a group of soldiers.

The death of Diem caused celebration among many people in
South Vietnam, but also leads to political chaos in the nation. The United
States subsequently became more heavily involved in Vietnam as it tried to
stabilize the South Vietnamese government and beat back the communist rebels
that were becoming an increasingly powerful threat. While the United States
publicly disclaimed any knowledge of or participation in the planning of the
coup that overthrew Diem, it was later revealed that American officials met
with the generals who organized the plot and gave them encouragement to go
through with their plans. Quite simply, Diem was perceived as an impediment to
the accomplishment of U.S. goals in Southeast Asia. His increasingly
dictatorial rule only succeeded in alienating most of the South Vietnamese
people, and his brutal repression of protests led by Buddhist monks during the
summer of 1963 convinced many American officials that the time had come for
Diem to go. Three weeks later, an assassin shot President Kennedy. By then, the
United States was more heavily involved in the South Vietnamese quagmire than
ever. Its participation in the overthrow of the Diem regime signaled a growing
impatience with South Vietnamese management of the war. From this point on, the
United States moved step by step to become more directly and heavily involved
in the fight against the communist rebels.